---
title: comp_speak
---

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![Banner image - comp speak](https://connect.worldatwork.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Banner%20image%20-%20comp%20speak.png?width=1495&height=331&name=Banner%20image%20-%20comp%20speak.png "Banner image - comp speak")

**Do any of these questions sound familiar?** 

- “What does ‘50th percentile’ mean in relation to my compensation?”
- “I’m confused about the term ‘paying at market.’ What does it mean?”
- “What are ‘compa-ratios’?”
- “How are pay ranges created?”
- “Can you explain the company’s compensation philosophy and structure?”

These are just some of the inquiries that Total Rewards leaders at organizations of all types and sizes are fielding from employees these days as workers increasingly seek greater clarity about what determines their pay. 

Prompted in part by the growing wave of pay transparency laws in many states and jurisdictions, the queries also stem from the fact that relatively few employees fully grasp how their compensation is decided, where they stand within the market, why salary ranges exist and how they work, and a myriad of other details that tend to be both complex and changeable. 

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